Minnesota interim coach Jeff Horton makes strong case for his return to program

Players quickly take to interim coach's philosophy

Jeff Horton said he would have started Saturday's game against Iowa with an onside kick even if it were the first kickoff.

And it was that kind of carefree, confident mentality that the University of Minnesota's interim football coach injected his players with when he took over for Tim Brewster, who was fired Oct. 17 after a 1-6 start. It didn't immediately translate to success on the field, but players soon bought into Horton's philosophy, which led to two consecutive victories to finish the season, capped by Saturday's 27-24 win over No. 24 Iowa at TCF Bank Stadium.

Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi watched Horton gush about how incredible it would be for him to stick around after the new coach is hired. And Horton, who was fired as the coach at Nevada-Las Vegas after a 0-11 season in 1998, made a strong case to remain.

He joked to begin the postgame news conference that "I'd like to announce that I just accepted the head coaching job."

But Horton then turned realistic about what he called a "tough situation." The next coach will have to decide whether to keep any current staff, including Horton. The former Detroit Lions and Wisconsin quarterbacks coach was hired by Brewster this year to be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

"The new coach coming in; he's got his own people," he said. "It might be somebody I know. It might not be somebody I know. Even if it's someone I know, then he might not have room for you.

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If the opportunity presents itself, I love living here, I love coaching here."

Horton's call for Eric Ellestad to kick onside on Iowa's first possession led to the Gophers taking a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. Ellestad, who nearly lost the confidence of his coaches and teammates after struggling with his accuracy kicking field goals, recovered his onside kick. He also kicked two field goals.

That Horton was willing to try some trick plays after starting the season as a conservative play-caller was an example of his familiarity and comfort level with his players. He also sparked the offense by allowing sophomore MarQueis Gray to play quarterback and receiver in the last three games.

"I love of them all, especially coach Horton," Gray said about the staff. "If he's here, that's fine with me."

Running game: The Gophers rushed for 216 yards, the highest rushing total allowed by Iowa all season. Deleon Eskridge rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Duane Bennett had 11 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, and Gray had eight carries for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Senior farewell: The Gophers honored 15 seniors before the game, including starters Adam Weber, Matt Carufel, Dom Alford, Jeff Wills, Jon Hoese, Kyle Theret, Ryan Collado and Ellestad. Safety Kim Royston, who missed the entire season after suffering a broken leg in the spring, also suited up and received applause.

Briefly: Carufel returned from a medial collateral ligament injury to start his final collegiate game, and senior tight end Colin McGarry (concussion) also returned to play. Junior offensive lineman Ryan Orton missed the game because of an undisclosed injury.

Weber made his 50th consecutive start. He owns the all-time record for starts by a Big Ten quarterback. He ended his career second in Big Ten history with 11,603 total yards.

In each of its five losses this season, Iowa allowed a deciding touchdown with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter. That includes three straight losses, to Northwestern, Ohio State and Minnesota.